Grading-machine



w. PILGER,

' GRADING MACHINE.

v 7 APPLICATION FILED MAY 2B, 1920.

Patented Nov. 15, 1921.

3 SHEETS-SHEET I- I IN VENTOR.

WM. Pu. 65H.

,W. PlLGERi GRADING MACHINE. APPLICATION FILED MAY 28, 1920.

Patented Nov. 15, 1921.

INVENTOR.

WM P11. 615/? 3 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

W. PILGER.

GRADINGVMACHINE.

APPLICATION man MAY 28, 1920.

1 1,397,180, Patented Nov. 15,1921.

3 SHEETSSHEET 3. a4 55 I INVENTOR. WM P/L. GER

WILLIAM PILGER, 0F CENTER, COLORADO.

GRADING-MACHINE.

Application filed May 28,

To all QU/LO/It z't may concern:

Be it known that I, lViLLIAM Pjrncnn, a citizen of the United States, residing at Center, in the county of Saguache and State of Colorado, have invented certain new and useful Improvements. in Grading-hilachines, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to grading machines and more particularly to machines of the type shown and described in my appli cation for patent No. 299,428, filedMay 2a, 1919.

Machines of the type above referred to have in pivotal connection with a wheeled carrier, a forwardly slanting scoop which has a scraping edge at its lower end to remove the upper portion of the ground over which the carrier is drawn.

The scoop is open at its upper end and a mechanism is provided to swing the same to a position in which said end is lowermost for the discharge of its lead. The upper end of the scoop is normally closed by a hinged door and an adjustable device is provided to brace the scoop during its scraping action and at the same time hold the door from being opened by the inwardly moving dirt.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a simple and highly eflicient mechanism which lifts the loaded scoop by the movement of the carrier on which it is supported.

Another object is to provide in connection with the operating mechanism an adjustable clutch to connect it with a driving elem nt of the carrier, and an appliance actuated by the lifted scoop to automatically release the clutch at a determinate point in the movement of the same.

A further object of the invention is to provide a door-engaging brace which is automatically retracted by the movement of the scoop, and still another object is to provide in combination with a scraping machine of the character described, interchangeable means for its propulsion either by draft animals or a traction engine.

With the above and other objects in view, all of which will fully appear in the course of the following description, my invention consists in the construction, arrangement and combinations of parts shown in their preferred form in the accompanying drawings in the several views of which similar Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Nov. 15, 1921.

1920. Serial No. 384,903.

parts are designated by corresponding characters of reference and in which- Figure 1 is a plan view of the improved grading machine;

Fig. 2, a side elevation of the same;

F 1g. 3, a transverse section taken on the line 3-3, Fig. 2;

Fig. 4, a view of the rear end of the scoop of the machine showing its positions with relation to the automatically adjusted brace and the automatic controlling member of the operating mechanism, and r F 5, a fragmentary perspective view of the attachment at the front end of the carrier which adapts it for connection with a traction engine.

The carrier of the machine consists of aframe 5 supported at its rear end upon traction wheels 6 and at its other end upon swiveled caster wheels 7.

The frame has a pair of longitudinal members 8, a crossmember 9 at the front ends thereof, and a platform 10 at their op posite ends.

The caster wheels are mounted in bearings 1 which are detachably fastened to the cross member 9 and they are connected with the pivoted tongue 13 of the carrier to move in unison therewith, by means of bars 14 which are pivotally attached to forwardly projecting arms 15 at the upper ends of their spindles. The tongue is detachably connected with the cross member of the frame by a bar 17.

It will be seen that this construction permits of ready removal of the tongue and the caster wheels from the carrier frame and their replacement by means for connecting the frame to a traction engine such as the device illustrated in Fig. 5 of the drawings, consisting of a metal yoke 18, bolts 19 for its connection between the front ends of the side members 8 of the carrier frame, and a draw bar 20 in the center of the yoke, which connects it with the tractor.

The traction wheels 6 of the machine are mounted at the ends of a shaft 21 secured on the frame of the carrier and one of them has in rigid connection with its spokes a sprocket wheel 22 for the actuation of the mechanism by which the ground scraping scoop 31 is lifted for the discharge of its load in the operation of the machine.

The scoop is open at its ends and pivotally mounted on the carrier by means of an axle 23 which is fastened beneath its bottom adjacent the rear end thereof and which is rotatably supported in boxes 24 on the underside of the longitudinal members of the carrier frame.

A projecting cutting edge 25 at the front end of the bottom of the scoop digs the earth by forward movement of the machine and a hinged gravity door 26 closes the opposite end of the scoop while it is being loaded.

The scoop in its normal operative position slants forwardly to permit of the cutting edge at its front end entering the ground along which the carrier is drawn and it is suspended from a winding drum or Windlass erected on the frame The windlass comprises a pair of standards 27 erected on the side members of the carrier frame for the support of a winding drum 28 in boxes 29.

Chains 3O connect the drum with forwardly projecting clevises 31 on the scoop to swing the latter about its pivotal axis by rotation of the drum, and a sheave 66 of relatively large diameter is fixed on the drum for its operative connection with the actuating mechanism of the Windlass which is mounted on the platform 10 of the carrier rearward of the standards 27.

The actuating mechanism consists of a shaft 32 supported in boxes on a pair of standards 33 and carrying a sheave 34: in alinement with that of the winding drum. A rope 35 running over the two sheaves in opposite directions and connected thereto at its ends, is the medium for transmitting the rotary movement of the shaft 32 to the wind ing drum.

The shaft 32 is connected to be rotated by the movement of the carrier through the instrumentality of a motion transmission mechanism of which the traction wheel to which the sprocket wheel 22 is connected is the driving element.

The sprocket wheel 22 is by means of a chain connected with a corresponding wheel 11 on a countershaft 38 which is supported in boxes on the standards of the winding drum and the rotary movement of the countersha-ft is transferred to the shaft 32 which carries the sheave 31, by a chain 39 trained over sprocket wheels 36 and 37.

The sprocket wheel 37 is normally loose' on its shaft and a clutch is provided to establish its rotative continuity with the same.

The movable member 42 of the clutch which slides on the shaft is adjusted by a hand-lever 4:3 with which it is connected through the usual nonrotary collar 44: and a rod 45.

.The lever serves in the operation of the machine to move the clutch member to which it is connected into interlocking engagement with its correlative on the sprocket wheel 3? it being understood that the frictional contact of the parts during their conjunctive rotation is sufficient to hold them together without the use of fastening means.

The collar on the movable clutch member is furthermore connected with an automatic releasing mechanism actuated by the scoop when it is lifted to a determinate elevation.

The releasing mechanism consists of a bell-crank 45 fulcrumed on one of the standards of the Winding drum and connected at the end of one of its arms to the collar of the clutch member by means of a rod 46.

The other arm of the bell crank carries an antifriction roller 47 in the path of a trip tS which is fastened at a side of the pivoted scoop. hen by interlocking engagement of the clutch members the winding drum is actuated to move the scoop about its pivotal axis, the engagement of the trip with the bell crank after the scoop has been lifetd to its load-dumping position, will retract the movable clutch member and thereby automatically discontinue the operation of the winding mechanism. A ratchet wheel 4L9 on the shaft of the sheave 34: and a pivoted pawl 50 engaging the same prevent retrograde motion of the winding mechanism after the clutch members are disengaged as hereinbefore described, and a foot lever 51 connected. with the pawl by a rope 52 provides a convenient means to release the shaft when after the scoop has dumped its load, it is desired to return it to its original position.

The movement of the Windlass furthermore controlled by a brake consisting of a drum 53 on the shaft 32, a band 54% encircling the same, and a foot lever 55 connected with the band through the medium of a rope 56.

The Windlass may if so desired be manually operated by means of a hand crank 57 which is loosely suspended from an end of the shaft 32. A toothed wheel 58 and a detent 59 pivoted on the crank in connection with a retracting spring 60, provide a convenient means for securing the rotative continuity of the shaft and the crank so that the one may be rotated through the instrumentality of the other.

The device which braces the scoop in its dirt removing position and at the same time. holds the gravity door at the discharge end of the same from being opened by the inwardly movingload, consists of a dog 61 which is pivoted as at 62 on a stationary part of the carrier frame and a spring 63 which normally holds the dog in a forwardly projecting position in which it engages the underside of a lug 6e fastened to the door.

It will be apparent that the dog in this position prevents the door from being opened by the inward movement of the excavated dirt and that at the same time it braces the scoop in its operative position against the strain to which it is subjected by the movement of its cutting edge into and through the ground.

When by operation of the Windlass the scoop is moved to its load dumping position the lug 64 causes the dog 61 to release the door which subsequently is opened by the weight of the downwardly moving load as shown in Fig. 4 of the drawings.

A seat 65 on the platform at the rear end of the carrier is positioned so that the foot levers 51 and 55, the controlling lever 43 and the hand crank 57 of the Windlass are within easy reach of its occupant.

As the operation of the machine has been referred to at intervals in the course of the foregoing description it will only be necessary to outline it very briefly at this point.

lVith the scoop and the operating mecha nism in the position illustrated in Fig. 2 of the drawings, the carrier is moved along a road or other surface to be leveled by draft animals or a traction engine connected at its forward end. I

The cutting edge of the scoop dlggmg into the ground removes the dirt at the surface thereof, it being understood that the dog braces the scoop to better withstand the strain of its digging action and prevents the inwardly moving load from opening the door.

After the scoop is fully loaded, the operator establishes a driving connection between the moving traction wheels of the car rier and the winding drum by adjustment of the movable clutch member through the medium of the hand-lever, thereby causing the scoop to move about its pivotal axis to a position in which its discharge end is lowermost as illustrated in Fig. 5.

The dog automatically releases the door by the downward movement of the end of the scoop with which it engages and thereby permits of the door being opened by the pressure of the load. After the scoop has been lifted to a position in which its load may freely pass by gravity through its open end, the trip on the side thereof releases the clutch member by engagement with the roller on the bell-crank, and thereby automatically discontinues the movement of the windlass.

The operator controls the movement of the operating mechanism by the foot-actuated brake and after the load has been dumped, causes the scoop to return to its original position by releasing the pawl from the ratchet wheel with which it normally engages.

To operate the Windlass by hand the operator in taking hold of the hand crank moves the detent into engagement with the toothed wheel, thereby connecting the crank with the shaft on which it is mounted.

Having thus described my invention what I claim and desire to-secure by Letters-Patent is:

1. In a grading machine, the combination of a carrier frame, a traction wheel for its support, a scoop pivoted on the frame, a winding drum, a flexible connection between the drum and the scoop, a sheave on the drum,

a driving sheave, a rope winding upon the trolling the operation of said mechanism,

and a hand-operated brake controlling the movement of the sheaves.

3. In a grading machine, the combination of a carrier-frame, a traction wheel for its support, a scoop pivoted on the frame, a winding drum, a flexible connection between the scoop and the drum, mechanism for actuating the winding drum by movement of the traction-wheel, a clutch member controlling the operation of said mechanism, a crank connected to the clutch member, and a trip on the scoop adapted to operatively engage the crank during movement of the scoop to its load dumping position.

4-. In a grading machine, the combination of a wheeled carrier, an open-ended scoop pivotally supported thereon in a normally forwardly slanting position, a gravity door closing the discharge end of the scoop, and a dog movably mounted on a relatively stationary part of the frame, normally engaging the door, and adapt-ed to release the same by movement of the scoop to its load-clumping position.

In a grading machine, the combination of a wheeled carrier, an open-ended scoop pivotally supported thereon in a normally forwardly slanting position, a gravity door closing the discharge-end of the scoop, and a movable dog bracing the door by contact with a relatively stationary part of the frame, and adapted to release the same by movement of the scoop to its load dumping position.

6. In a grading machine, the combination of a wheeled carrier, an open-ended scoop pivotally supported thereon in a normally forwardly slanting position, a gravity door closing the discharge-end of the scoop, a dog movably mounted on a relatively stationary part of the frame, and normally engaging the door, and means on the door adapted to cause the dog to release the same during movement of the scoop to its load dumping position.

7. In a grading machine, the combination of a wheeled carrier, an open-ended scoop pivotally supported thereon in a normally forwardly slanting position, a gravity door closing the discharge-end of the scoop, a dog 10 pivoted on a relatively stationary part of the frame and normally projecting in contact with the door, a spring holding the dog in its projecting position, and a lug on the door acting upon the dog during movement of the scoop to its load dumping position, to cause it to release the door.

In testimony whereof I have aflixed my signature.

WILLIAM PILGER. 

